"African people work hard," said Fatea Kete, 34 years old, who is originally from the Ivory Coast and works at a restaurant. "I don't like what she is doing. We come to this country for work. You come here to get away from your problems."

Meanwhile, French expatriates were relieved that the episode seemed to be behind them.

"We're happy it's finally over," said Jean-Jacques Bernat, who owns a French bistro, Provence en Boite, with his wife, Leslie, in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. "For the past three months, DSK has been at the top of both the French and American news and gossip, it's all we've been hearing around here."

The sex allegations drew months of international headlines and provoked conflicting emotions for the two immigrant communities—which both have populations in New York City of about 70,000, though the West African count is estimated to be far greater due to lack of documentation.

For the French, it dragged into public view stereotypes of sexually aggressive men and sparked public outrage about how Mr. Strauss-Kahn was treated by the American justice system.

"There's a saying in French: Il faut laver son linge sale en famille. Or, don't air your dirty laundry in public," Ms. Bernat said. "Prosecutors should have checked really thoroughly before jumping to a conclusion…it's embarrassing for all of us."

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Among West Africans, there was division over the motives of Ms. Diallo, who is filing a civil lawsuit, and whether her image tainted the community.

Fitima Camara,
a former hotel housekeeper in Canada who now works at an Applebee's downtown, said she thought Ms. Diallo was lying. "If you are a respectable woman, you don't lie," she said. "I'm a Muslim like her. I really don't trust her."

But others were equally defiant in supporting Ms. Diallo. "She's not lying, I think the whole thing is being influenced by DSK," said
Peter Siaway,
a 37-year-old cab driver originally from Liberia. "I think money plays into the thing. I'm African. She's a poor African girl. They took advantage of her."

Ernest Diatta, 44, a construction worker from Senegal, said, "Justice chooses who is guilty. I didn't follow the whole story but I don't care about where people came from. If she lied she lied. If DSK did it, they have to give justice."

Some say division regarding Ms. Diallo's case has broken along ethnic lines within the community, which includes members of sometimes conflicting groups.

Ousmane Kane,
an associate professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and an expert in Sub-Saharan African and Islamic politics, said it seemed many in Ms. Diallo's Fulani-speaking community believe her.

"I think people really have the feeling that this man really tried to rape this woman," Mr. Kane said. "I think there's a strong feeling among the community…a strong sense that it would be quite unfair if this guy would be able to walk away."